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Trump was born in Queens, New York City, New York. He is a son of Fred Trump, and his wife, Mary Anne (nee MacLeod), who married in 1936. His mother was born on the Isle of Lewis, off the west coast of Scotland.[4] Donald was one of five children. Donald's oldest brother, Fred Jr., died in 1981 at the age of 43.[5] Trump's paternal grandparents were German immigrants.[6] His grandfather, Frederick Trump (ne Friedrich Drumpf), immigrated to the United States in 1885 and became a naturalized American citizen in 1892. Frederick married Elisabeth Christ (October 10, 1880 – June 6, 1966)[7] at Kallstadt, Kingdom of Bavaria, Germany, on August 26, 1902. They had three children. He studied at Fordham University until transferring to the University of Pennsylvania.

Trump began his career at his father's real estate company,[8] Elizabeth Trump and Son,[9] which focused on middle-class rental housing in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. One of Trump's first projects, while he was still in college, was the revitalization of the foreclosed Swifton Village apartment complex in Cincinnati, Ohio, which his father had purchased for $5.7 million in 1962. Trump became intimately involved in the project and with a $500,000 investment, turned the 1200-unit complex with a 66 percent vacancy rate to 100 percent occupancy within two years. In 1972 the Trump Organization sold Swifton Village for $6.75 million.[10]

Trump made a formal announcement of his candidacy for president of the United States for the 2016 elections on June 16, 2015. He made the announcement at 11am EST from his headquarters in Trump Tower in New York City.[14][15] Trump launched his campaign declaring, "We are going to make our Country Great Again" with a commitment to become the "greatest jobs president."[15]

During his announcement speech he stated in part, "When Mexico sends its people, they're not sending their best. They're not sending you. They're sending people that have lots of problems, and they're bringing those problems.... They're bringing drugs. They're bringing crime. They're rapists. And some, I assume, are good people." On July 6, 2015, Trump issued a written statement to clarify his position on illegal immigration which drew a reaction from critics.[16]